Heidi was so cute we could hardly bear to see her leave! We are very glad that she has stayed fairly nearby so that we can
visit with her on occasion. She was one of the lighter puppies, and is maturing to a lovely light red, just a hair lighter than Penny at a year old,
with pretty blond feathering. She was one of the first to start wrestling with toys and other puppies, and was an intensely sweet puppy.
She would stare holes at you, willing you to pick her up and love her, and when you did she would spend long minutes slurping busily on your
hand, ear, arm ... whatever was within reach! In spite of that, she is also a very active and talented girl, with a high retrieving drive
and a personality full of mischief. Owned and loved by George and Judy Seiters of Signal Mountain, where she enjoys hiking with George, playing
in the lake, and working with Judy in obedience classes.

News About Heidi

May 30, 2013:Heidi and Judy earn the Canine Good Citizen (CGC) title! Judy said, "Break out the champagne! Thank goodness the evaluator
liked exuberant dogs! Heidi was all over herself but worked off lead to the evaluator's delight (and mine)" and earned her CGC title at Playdog Excellent
in Chattanooga tonight. Congratulations from Mama Penny, Grandma Hilfy and sister Panda -- and the rest of the Fern Hill team. Looking good!

September 8, 2010:Editor's Note: Judy and Heidi came to Fern Hill today for a visit! Did we ever have a great time -- Heidi and
Penny remembered each other immediately and were delighted to get reacquainted, and Grandma Hilfy was thrilled to see how nicely Heidi is turning out.
She is a real head-turner and a barn burner with her bouncy, friendly personality, her good looks, and her silly, happy smile. Here are some of the
pictures from our visit:

September 1, 2010:Heidi is one year old! Pictures taken yesterday. Weight: 59.9 lbs.
I tried to get some pictures of her standing but she was not cooperative. Will continue to work on that.
She is beautiful with an extremely shiny coat and absolutely gorgeous stance and gait (sounds like I'm talking
about a horse, doesn't it?). She can run like a bullet and climb forsythia shrubs over 12 feet tall to get a frisbee or ball.
We couldn't love her more than we already do. She's our Heidi.

August 12, 2010:Heidi at the Lake!

Heidi at the lake

July 27, 2010, first Manners Matter class with Heidi: The evening started with my upset stomach (never had such a case of nerves before)
and a clean dog who had decided earlier that I needed to take a bath with her. Since she still resists jumping into the car, I got her to put her
front feet on the seat (I know, I need a crate) and lifted her hind end up, checked all extremities, and closed the door. We're off to "Manners Matter" class!
Thinking I needed some nice, quiet classical music to calm me down as I drove to PDX, I turned on my favorite classical radio station only to hear Chopin's
Funeral March! I had to pull off the road I was laughing so hard. Must have been just what I needed, because stomach began to feel better and my attitude had done a 180.

We got to PDX with 10 minutes to spare, and wonder of wonders, my little Heidi actually went potty on command, pranced with head held high into the
building and proceded to sniff everyone and everything in sight. At least she didn't jump on anyone right off the bat! Julie, our manners instructor,
came in and put us at ease immediately. A former social worker in the county school system, she knew exactly how to handle both the handlers and dogs.
The class originally had five dogs signed up; however, only two of us were there today. Instructor said that usually when people don't show for the
first class, they don't show for any of the others! Yea, I'm getting a semi-private lesson. Huge sigh of relief.

Twenty minutes of introduction of what we're to expect for the next five weeks as well as some behavioral books to read (never did get the printout of
those, rats!), we got up off our duffs and began with a name recognition exercise. Heidi was starved (dinner is usually at 5:00 p.m., class was at
6:30 p.m.) and quite anxious to please having smelled the zooks in my waistband pouch. Even with the other classes in the room going on, she performed
well. Next came call to come and sit...once again, perfection! Then we started the sit/stay and down/stay commands....once again, she amazed me by
not only doing what was asked, but accepting mostly hand signals with only a few verbal commands! She was REALLY on her game tonight!!!!!!
Toward the end of the hour, when the decibels of noise reached its peak, Heidi's attention span was pushed to its limit. Doors opening, LOTS of dogs
entering the room, some of them non-stop barkers, and people walking around and stuff on the floor, not to mention new smells and dogs to meet, were
real challenges to her best behavior. Solution? LEAVE, which I did as quickly as possible and without incident. Can't wait for next week!

March 26, 2010: Today was a first! Heidi found something dead and rolled in it like it was candy! EWWWW. All over her face,
chest and front legs, mud and horrific odor. She indignantly succumbed to a bath, trying only twice to leave the tub, but did accomplish
getting me soaking wet, then added insult to injury and shook all her wet coat in my face. Duh, Judy - why didn't you get out of the way????
Oh, well, we're both squeaky clean now. I do remember your telling me this would happen; I have to say that when you said it, I smugly
thought to myself, 'not going to happen to me or Heidi.' You were right! George said she will never be off lead again....EVER!
She is such a tomboy...how did that happen??? George also says I didn't totally get all the odor off...guess it's a good thing I have sinus
problems at this time of year?

March 6, 2010:Judy and Heidi at work

February 16, 2010: Snow!

Heidi gets acquainted with snow

January 18, 2010: Last week, our little Heidi was bitten on the muzzle by a spider (the vet thinks Black Widow); her muzzle swelled
and several days later we saw some blood and hypersalivation. She was also off her food intake. George paled and demanded a visit to the vet who
ran a complete blood study, temp, etc...all were normal, TG! However, when the muzzle was shaved (just the affected site) we did see two puncture
wounds...too far apart for a snake bite...and according to the vet, hypersalivation could happen with a spider bite. She never lost her energy level
or her sweetness, but she did rub her face a lot on the rug. The swelling is gone, but the medications will continue for the rest of this week as a precaution.

She is happy that her pool has filled with rainwater and getting into her natural demands to go out to the front yard where she is able to investigate
the woods and creek and deer tracks. The crows and squirrels tease her unmercifully to the point that when she goes outside through the back door, her
nose immediately goes up and searches the sky for incoming with ears perked for rustling leaves caused by deer or squirrels. Heidi is never allowed in the
front yard or the woods (even with the wireless fence) without one of us out there with her. The bite happened, we think, when she was out with George
and he noticed her jump back from a woodpile she had been nosing. We noticed the swelling the next day. In reality, it was very minimal, about the
size of a small pecan. In any event, she is doing VERY well, but has felt a bit cooped up today. I did spend about 35 min. with her outside...but
we were both drenched to the skin when we came in.

A little funny about Heidi: she has decided she doesn't like my feeding schedule and has taken to sitting in front of her food mat at what she
thinks is meal time and chirping. The sound is distinctly different from 'I want to go outside NOW' or 'there's a squirrel out there.' This is something
very new and I am having to get up to see exactly what she wants; there is no mistaking the signal.

January 6, 2010: So much to tell you!
Met Lorie Jolly last night at Curt's and introduced her to one of Speaker's new granddaughters. Well, before the hour was over, she fell in love!!!!
Loved her build but did stop short of suggesting she had true conformation potential. Curt is also smitten with her. He wants a female puppy so badly
he can taste it...he loves Heidi's spunk. Wish you could see her work with him...he's a pied piper to be sure!!!! He did have to correct her a couple
of times, but oh, boy, after that, she was licking his face and he was saying, 'she's terrific! I see lots of titles for this little bitch.' Well, I
could have taken offence at his nomenclature, I guess, but my buttons were bursting too fast to think about being upset and yes, I do know a bitch is
a female dog, as far as dog people are concerned! There were a few kudos tossed my way: her speed in sitting (and squarely), her downs (with food at
her nose) were very quick and back, her 'get closes' were amazing for a dog her age'...HOWEVER, my leash work leaves a great deal to be desired (learned?)
and I must also remember she is just a puppy and not get upset when she doesn't perform as quickly or as well as I would like. Thing is, I KNOW when
she doesn't do what I ask, it's because she has lost her focus on me, and I am expecting too much from her at this age.

December 16, 2009:I took Heidi to the wine store today because the manager, who is a dog lover and has been totally enamored with Heidi
since she was 9 weeks old, asked me to stop by. We (the store manager and I) put Heidi in a cart and selected the wines, then went to the back
office where one of the distributor's reps pulled out photos of his 12 year old golden! He made over Heidi so much that he sent a picture
of her in the cart to his daughter! I certainly won't do it again, but oh, so glad I did today; everyone who came in the store couldn't resist
patting her and making some very nice comments. She put on a real show with all the attention! Was REALLY good, too.
Did a sit/stay for over 5 miutes --She's right on at the most unexpected times.

November 25, 2009: Thanksgiving! Thought you might like to see how much Heidi is growing at almost 13 weeks! She enjoyed Thanksgiving.
Heidi is definitely Mr. Speaker's granddaughter - talk about a talker!!!! Sassy and loud, but wonderfully sweet and cuddly (esp. in the early morning
hours when she is taken to our bed for snuggle time).

Heidi getting into trouble at Thanksgiving, 11/24/09

November 23, 2009: Three months of age: 20.7 lbs!!!!! Not thrilled about going up or down open stairs, but getting
almost too big to carry. Learning about 'no biting' and containing herself fairly well. Still rather willful but fun to see how
she can get around us with such ease. New command: 'Find it!' Loves to play find it and knows when she picks up the wrong toy.
Don't know how I'm going to get TG dinner on the table - she's entirely too much fun to watch to be bothered with preparing a meal.
Exclamations at the clinic this morning were, 'she's so soft' and 'what a great puppy she is.' My buttons are bursting! Penny's should be too.

November 14, 2009: Just had to send these to you. Taken yesterday at a huge enclosed yard by sister, Barbara, one solid hour of fun. Water play
in Barb's dogs' water bowl at the house then on to the outdoors for a game of chase and catch-me-if-you-can. She loved climbing a mountain of dirt and peering
over the top (mostly sliding both backwards and forwards) as well as digging deeply into the dirt which should explain the dirty face picture.

After one hour of play, an hour nap on our way to Curt's in Silver Point, a 1.5 hour lesson (not sure who got trained) and sleep back to Crossville and during dinner,
she decided not to sleep during the night (ugh!). Knowing she would be exhausted at some point, Barb and I took her back to the enclosed lot and took pictures of
Scotch, Marco and Heidi for over an hour. With that done, I left for Signal Mountain. Before I could count to 4 from my parking spot to the highway, Heidi was
sawing logs. Had to waken her when we got home. She played about 2 more hours, then racked out again....this time for the rest of the evening and night. I had
to awaken her this morning at 6:30 just to make sure she was all right. Still too tired to eat, I expect she will gobble lunch in seconds rather than minutes today.

Most fun ever....

Heidi likes to blow bubbles in her water dish!

Digging in the dirt is immensely fun!

November 5, 2009:Heidi found her voice day before yesterday...moments of quiet are now quite rare. Barking at her reflection in the sliding doors...
played with the water in a bird bath we filled just for her...NOW I know what fapping is. ;) Didn't drink, but mouthed and bit at the water and couldn't get enough
of that fun. Finally wound up with her front feet in the water and the most delighted expression on her face. No doubt about it - we have a water dog!!!!!! YIPPEE!

November 4, 2009: She will sit in front of the kitchen door and if we're not paying attention, she has begun to "chirp"
to let her out! Have to admit, we are still living in the kitchen watching her antics from 7 am until 10 p.m. and loving every minute of it.
She is sitting and waiting while I fix her meals, then sitting and waiting until I clap twice and say, "OK", before she will eat. She IS TOTALLY AMAZING!!!!!
Do I need to reiterate how much we adore her? Her puppy nipping is beginning to get under control with some rather loud and firm NO's, but I've seen
no guilt in her eyes. Just smiles and shiny eyes that make us smile but not give in. Toys galore, rawhide sticks, pig's ear and training periods
using mozzarella string cheese keep her distracted along with her not yet used but getting used to new forever crate. We will get a wire one later,
but she really seems to enjoy the enclosure of the kennel-type crate which is ventilated quite well. She really likes the cushions that are inside
each crate and has yet to soil either one.
We are planning to add some dirt and reseed our front yard next spring due to the masses of moles/vols we must have in our yard. Heidi is doing her
very best to find them judging from the craters, but fortunately she has not presented her squeemish lady owner with a wiggling or dead body, TG!
I know, I'm going to have to toughen up.

October 28, 2009:
She has already outgrown the first crate; thank goodness I have borrowed another to which she will be moved today after George
gets home. I need to get a mat for it. She is responding really well to light obedience training. Follows food, sits on command
(stay is really difficult still), tells me vocally that she needs to go outside. I'm beginning to learn what the different sounds
mean. Guess that means my training is coming along too, huh?

October 25, 2009: We can almost see her growing in front of our eyes. Her personality is totally delightful.
When you get tired of hearing how wonderful she is, please don't hesitate to say, "Enough, already!" I will understand. I
just feel the need to share the joy she is bringing to our lives.

October 23, 2009: There is NOTHING we don't love about this puppy. We were so surprised to see her using her paws like hands
at this early age. OMG! We have a prodigy on our hands! She got me up only once during the night, had no trouble going to sleep at 11 p.m.
Awoke about 2:30, went outside to potty (REALLY doing well with that), then came back in to "crate". A little lonesome but was asleep within
less than 5 minutes. Woke up but stayed quiet until 6 when George couldn't wait to start his day with her, went downstairs and took her out.
She is such a joy!!!! We're off to the vet at 9:30...the whole clinic is going to go crazy over her!
Oh, yes, we left the kitchen door open to see what she would do. VERY tentatively, she one-stepped into the wood floored hallway and spent a
lot of time exploring the hall runner. Much prefers the kitchen (vinyl floor) to any other room with the exception of having been carried
upstairs to awaken me at 8:30 this morning. Nestled right into the covers, put her head down, and within milliseconds was soundly sleeping.
YEA! VELCROPUPPY!!!!!!

October 22, 2009: Sleep? What's that? She does well with the crate, but don't even think of closing the door - she sends
out a three note chord of dismay and dissatisfaction. I let her wail until she calmed down...tried to walk out...mistake!
I came back in, said not a word, opened the door, said, "outside?" , opened the outside door and walked up the hill and waited....
she followed, went to the designated area where she wet. As she was in the act, I said "good potty!" over and over again, we
came back in; I threw a little cheese in the back of the crate, she followed with me saying, "Crate!"; once in, I closed the door
and her little chin went straight up in a wolf howling pose and let go yet again. I just walked out and let her go on. That
was soooooooooooo hard. But after all, I'd been doing this every hour on the hour all night, letting her know that when it's dark,
her only reason for getting out of the crate is to potty, no fun and games.

Today, she goes in and out of the crate at will (I am feeding her there), even took about a 20 min. nap there. In all this time,
she has wet once and pooped once on the kitchen linoleum floor...totally due to our lack of focus of her signals. After her nap today,
she told us OUTSIDE by sitting in front of the door and whining, then even went to her designated potty area without being shown...in
fact, she did it on the run!! We have a genius on our hands!!!!!! We are very proud. Only two mistakes (ours) in a 24 hour period is
miraculous. I am so glad I didn't put paper down. Also glad that I watched you in the puppy room. I have learned lots just watching
and listening to you. Thank you for such great lessons.

She is going to be a real digger and grass tosser! Just glad she's going to be in the front yard for only another two months before the
electric fence goes in and the back and side yards get a chain link fence. The acorns, grass, lariope and pachysandra are just too enticing.

October 21, 2009:Today we received the most precious addition to our family in the form of one Fern Hill High Crest Heidi!
We have never laughed so much in one day in years...nor have we enjoyed the cuddles we have received not only in the car but here at home too.
She loves the doggie run and took to the two steps right away after a head-first tumble or two. Believe it or not, after only a couple of whines which just about put me in tears,
she settled down in the car preferring the seat to the lap but snuggling up to the leg of first Emily then me. Slept all the way to Spring City where
we stopped for a drive thru lunch and I took her for a little walk....she actually performed right on cue and so proud of herself, pranced back on
the leash until I picked her up to cross the drive and get in the car. She promptly fell right back to sleep and we had to awaken her when we arrived
on the mountain. Great little traveler - yea!

We all played with her so much in the yard after her lunch that you could actually watch her drooping eyelids close and her head nod as she fell asleep again.
Tonight she's been a little sluggish but did play for a few seconds with the puppy in the sliding glass door (her reflection). Immediately after that, she
whimpered a little which broke our hearts...she's missing her litter mates. :(

Oh, yes...Heidi is definitely going to be a chewer! I'll have to be on my toes with this little one. Her room (our kitchen) is baby-proofed for her,
but we will always be in here with her unless she is sleeping in her crate. The potty training is going way better than I expected - no oops yet...all
have been in the designated naturalized area in the yard. You've worked wonders with this little one!

Did you know she cries in chords? She didn't like being put in the crate tonight but only for about 3 minutes, then she settled down and is sleeping soundly.

Baby Pictures

Heidi with her new owners Dr. George and Judy Seiters. She is just as thrilled with them as they are with her!